I test drove a 1.4 tsi Octavia (SE Sport) the other day. It was supposed to be a solo test drive, which would have been ideal. However, I was asked to sign a form committing me to the first £1000 insurance excess if I had an accident. That is far greater excess than I would have on my car so I declined, as it could have turned out to be the most expensive test drive ever, possibly through no fault of my own. Has anyone else declined a test drive for the same reason? The salesman seemed totally taken aback by this.

Anyway, it was resolved when the salesman came out with me instead. It was not a great route and I came away unsure what to think about the car. The interior and general refinement seem to be a quantum leap from my car, but I'm unsure about the engine. I found it quite tricky to set off and accelerate smoothly, as there was a lag, following which the power all came at once (it was a manual box). It could be unfamiliarity, but I can generally get in any car and adapt quite quickly. Does anyone have this car and how would you rate the engine characteristics and whether smooth progress can be made?

 

Incidentally, I had reset the computer and averaged 37mpg on the test  drive, which was a lot of stop start, so not bad.

Edited 23 October, 20169 yr by harrylime

That is just too funny.

Almost identical to what I experienced on my test drive of a 1.4tsi manual 2 years ago when I was looking to move from my 6 year old 1.9d.

Dealers are always situated on busy main roads so to get into the traffic I gave it a similar amount of 'welly' the 1.9d needed to get any sort of motivation and shot off up the road like a scalded cat, much to both my wife's and my consternation.

She did the same thing when it was her go.

Let's just say the 1.4tsi accelerator is more responsive and you have to feed it in more steadily and that seems to reduce the turbo lag as well. Soon get used to it.

 

The other big difference between the two engines is the lack of in-gear engine braking from the tsi.

There are hill gradients I could descend in 4th on the 1.9pd with no braking which the tsi still gathers speed in 3rd..

 

I reckon it took me a couple of months to come to completely terms with the differences but when you do the economy figures from the tsi is not far behind the diesel on the open road (legal speeds) or in town.

The Mk3 is much lighter and standing starts between the two just don't compare with the tsi about 4 seconds faster to 100kph.

Open road driving and going up hills is remarkably easy and similar to the 1.9d in terms of rolling acceleration and not having to change gears.

I can accelerate up most local long hills (8% to 10% gradient) in 6th (top gear) although out of mechanical sympathy I usually drop a gear.

110kph (68mph) seems to correspond to 2500 rpm but the engine is quiet and really smooth.

The petrol engine warms up in a fraction of the time of the 1.9d so you get warm air out of the heater within a km or so compared to 5 or km on the diesel.

If I have any complaint then it is probably with the manual box gearing, I would prefer 2nd to be a bit lower and 6th to be a bit higher with appropriate spacing of the others in between. I think that would also make the 1st to 2nd change a little less notchy.

 

The only area where the 1.9pd was superior was getting far better fuel consumption at higher speeds (130kph or more) but since our Australian roads are so heavily policed for speed now it was not really a factor.

When they say 'zero tolerance for speeding' here they mean it and have even booked people for exceeding the limit by 1kph (according to a newspaper article the other day).

Apparently the interstate driver paid the $228 fine rather than go through the bother and expense of contesting it, even though he would probably have won.

 

I'd recommend you try and get a longer term test to get to appreciate how good it is, or not .... depending on your own preferences.

 

I personally think it is one of VAG's best engines offering economy and pretty reasonable performance although if you use too much of the latter then you get figures like TMWNA gets. Although I think he also runs a separate fuel line from the tank into a cannula in his arm to consume as much as he does 

I find the 1.4TSi to be very smooth. Much smoother and less laggy than my previous car, but that was a 1.6TDCi ford, which is a completely different kettle of fish!

 

Were you trying to pull away with too few revs on? The torque is supposed to be available from 1500rpm, but it will cruise at low speeds in low gears at below that figure, and if you plant your foot in this circumstance you will have to wait.

I came to it from the 1.8 TSi and was very surprised at it feeling almost as powerful.

I leave the engine in sport mode but the rest normal. I always turn off the stop/start. I found it a pain,

and on the rare occasion I forget to turn it off I sometimes almost stall the car away from traffic lights.

 

It can be amazingly quick off the mark, and I only notice its lower power on hills, if I'm in a gear too high.

When I test drove my 1.4TSI my daily drive was an Audi RS4 (4.2 normally aspirated) which had a very linear throttle response so it took a little while to adapt to the off boost languor of the 1.4TSI but once I got used to that and adapted my throttle style, like ednmra, I was surprised how powerful the 1.4TSI is.

 

Like Gerrycan I noticed the relative lack of engine braking, but that's pretty much the same as my other car a Citroen C1 (3 cylinder 998cc normally aspirated).

 

Now after a couple of months (I'm retired so I only drive the Octavia once a week) I don't notice the off boost characteristic and, despite having 1/3 of the power I had got used to, am enjoying driving it and especially enjoying the much smaller fuel bills (I'm averaging 45mpg despite much of my driving being suburban).

Just to pickup on the previous post, I came from a 2.8V6 Turbo Saab to the 2.0TSI RS and the different in consumption is night and day, but where it got ridiculous was when they had my RS in for a long service and I drove around with a 1.2TSI...

For the power, the consumption was very low. In urban where I do 8.4l/100km with the RS, I was doing 5.4 with 1.2TSI.

Ridiculously low consumption - I managed to squeeze over 900km of a tank on the road.

Sounds like you were way too heavy footed with it. Been driving a diesel too long, not used to having to be a bit gentle.

If you can adapt you find it normal after a while.

I am on my third TSI engine, one 1.2 on a Fabia and two 1.4 on Octavia's. My current 1.4TSI Octavia Yr15, 17000m I love. I find the engine excellent for both town and motorway driving. I am no boy racer but I don't hang around. I find 'working' the manual gearbox to achieve best performance is a delight.

Average 50+ on long runs.

Bought from new, I tried several other makes at the time, Vauxhall, Toyota etc with similar size motors, but they did not come close in my opinion.

I am on my third TSI engine, one 1.2 on a Fabia and two 1.4 on Octavia's. My current 1.4TSI Octavia Yr15, 17000m I love. I find the engine excellent for both town and motorway driving. I am no boy racer but I don't hang around. I find 'working' the manual gearbox to achieve best performance is a delight.

Average 50+ on long runs.

Bought from new, I tried several other makes at the time, Vauxhall, Toyota etc with similar size motors, but they did not come close in my opinion.

Agreed, my only (minor) carp is the gearchange is a bit lumpy - maybe they can look at it during my annual service, due on Wednesday.

Agreed, my only (minor) carp is the gearchange is a bit lumpy - maybe they can look at it during my annual service, due on Wednesday.

I must be lucky, the gear shift is smooth a not a bit lumpy, in fact the only 'issue' I've had with my current car is the foot shower you get after rain/wash from the bottom of the drivers door. My own fault as I'm to lazy to get it sorted, maybe next service in a couple of months.

I'll mention the gear change to my service people then - must be some kind of adjustment. (Or maybe the lube?)

I thought it was just the design and I was stuck with it.

Thanks for the comments all, very interesting and keep them coming. I do also drive a petrol car as my weekend/hobby car, but that is a 4 litre V8 Lexus, thought of by many as the best engine ever made. That is just effortless progress so not really comparable. I found the gear change on the Octavia to be pretty sweet. To be honest I'm a bit more concerned about my wife adjusting to the Octavia as she would be alternating between that and her Fiat Panda, which is being increasingly hijacked by our daughter

The 1.4 engine is very free revving up to the red line. Certainly different from your diesel. As you say, that Lexus is not comparable. I've driven one.

I think it is fair to say that this engine is very well regarded by those owners who have posted here.

However, there has to be certain level of realism as well

The engine works well within its design parameters so it offers strong and efficient performance within the 1500 to 3500 rpm max torque range (250Nm) but while it does rev freely the torque available falls off quite sharply so maximum power is 'only' 140/150 bhp from 4500 to 5000 rpm.

Characteristics which are ideal for my driving.

 

There are similarly sized turbo based engines from other manufacturers offering similar torque but far more power and performance but, at least here in Australia, the competition are either more expensive, and/or have far worse fuel consumption, and/or in a less appealing package.

 

It has not stopped @jhthyssen from happily towing his 1200kg caravan across Europe (getting 12L/100 from memory) and exploring the top speed of the car on the Autobahns if only for a limited period because of the small petrol tank.

 

Might be worth pointing out that I have not seen any complaints about reliability of the unit posted on this site.

Which is a sort of invitation to comment  if others know otherwise

The Rev climb does hit a bit of a wall from 5 to 6k which is more down to the manifold but otherwise, it's ok as stock and has a few improvements which can get it upto about 330Nm and 200ish bhp

Just to clarify, I was impressed with the engine and the power seemed more than adequate for my needs. It was the sudden nature of the acceleration that was a bit of a concern, as if the turbo suddenly came onto full boost

The Rev climb does hit a bit of a wall from 5 to 6k which is more down to the manifold but otherwise,

 

Defo had to relearn as my old 1.4 16V Fabia would keep on & head-butt the limiter if not careful..........no need to go into the 5-6K revs on these cars

 

Just to clarify, I was impressed with the engine and the power seemed more than adequate for my needs. It was the sudden nature of the acceleration that was a bit of a concern, as if the turbo suddenly came onto full boost

 

It does do that & more when throttle/acceleration is set to sport in the mode or individual settings.....

 

wheel spin chav style is the order of the day if not careful...even on decent 225 wide Michelins....

It was the 1.4 se sport, not sure whether it had a sport setting or what setting it was on

It was the 1.4 se sport, not sure whether it had a sport setting or what setting it was on

On mine, an ordinary 1.4 TSi SE, manual, you can set individual functions to sport, or to economy, or  leave as "normal".

Mine is all normal except for throttle, which is sport.

Doesn't increase performance, just makes it feel more sporty response.

At times I find the same happens with my dsg. I think it's to do with stop start and or hill hold. You do get used to the engine and accelerator, the little 1.4 engine is a lot quicker than expected.